South Omaha, Nebraska is a former city and current district of Omaha

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth due to the rapid development of the Union Stockyards

Union Stockyards (Omaha)

The Union Stockyards of Omaha, Nebraska were founded in 1883 in South Omaha by the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. A fierce rival of Chicago's Union Stock Yards, the Omaha Union Stockyards were third in the nation for production by 1890. In 1947 they were second to Chicago in the world...

. Annexed by the City of Omaha

Government of Omaha

The government of the City of Omaha, Nebraska consists of the Mayor of Omaha, the Omaha City Council and various departments of the City of Omaha, which in located in Douglas County, Nebraska. The city of Omaha was founded in 1854 and incorporated in 1857....

 in 1915, the community has numerous historical landmarks. Many are within the South Omaha Main Street Historic District

South Omaha Main Street Historic District

The South Omaha Main Street Historic District is located along South 24th Street between M and O Streets in South Omaha, Nebraska. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989...

.

Definition

The traditional borders of South Omaha included Vinton Street to the north, Harrison Street to the south, the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 on the east, and 42nd Street on the west.

History

The area that would become South Omaha was rural until the early 1880s, when cattle baron Alexander Hamilton Swan decided to establish a stockyards operation just south of Omaha. The South Omaha plat was registered on July 18, 1884. Two years later, South Omaha was incorporated as a city. By 1890, the city had grown to 8,000 people, a rate of growth that earned it the nickname of "The Magic City".

In less than 10 years, South Omaha had become a regional stockyards and meat packing center, drawing thousands of immigrant workers, mostly from southern and eastern Europe.

South Omaha was annexed by Omaha on June 20, 1915. At that time it was 6.4 mi² and had 40,000 residents. In 1947 there were 15,000 people working in meatpacking, but structural changes to the industry in the 1960s cost the city 10,000 jobs. Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie

Dale Breckenridge Carnegie was an American writer, lecturer, and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills...

's first job out of college was working for Armour & Company as their South Omaha sales representative.

Cultural diversity

South Omaha was, and continues to be, culturally diverse. Many residents are descended from the Irish, Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, Italian, and Latino immigrants who made up the original workforce in the meatpacking industry. In recent decades, South Omaha has seen an influx of Hispanic and Sudanese populations.

The early diversity is evident in the variety of religious institutions established by the various ethnic communities, including

Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 churches:

• Irish – St. Mary's and St. Bridget's
• German – St. Rose and St. Joseph
• Czech
  Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska
  Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska have made significant contributions to the political, social and cultural development of the city since the first immigrants arrived in 1868.-About:In the 1860s many Czechs, primarily from Bohemia and Moravia, immigrated to Nebraska...
  
   – Assumption
• Polish
  Poles in Omaha
  Poles in Omaha, Nebraska arrived relatively early in the city's history. The first Polish immigrants came in the 1870s, and the community grew past 1000 in the late 1890s. By the 1930s there were 10,000 of Polish descent, and Omaha claimed the largest such community of the Great Plains...
  
   – St. Stanislaus and St. Francis of Assisi
• Lithuanian – St. Anthony's
• Italian – St. Francis Cabrini
• Croatian – Sts. Peter and Paul
• Hispanic – Our Lady of Guadalupe

Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 churches:

• Greeks
  Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska
  The community of Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska has a history that extends back to the 1880s. After they originally moved to the city following work with the railroads, the community quickly grew and founded a substantial neighborhood in South Omaha that was colloquially referred to as "Greek Town." The...
  
   – St. John's Greek Orthodox
• Serbian – St. Nicholas
• Romanian – Holy Cross

In the late 19th century a Jewish synagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

 was also established in South Omaha.

In the early part of the 20th century, the Lithuanian community published a newspaper, known as the Bell of the West.

Landmarks in South Omaha

Place name	Year built	Location	National Register of Historic Places	Omaha Landmark
Breckenridge-Gordon House Breckenridge-Gordon House The Breckenridge-Gordon House is located at 3611 Jackson Street in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1905, the house was designed by Thomas Rogers Kimball for a prominent local attorney...			No	Yes
Broatch Building Broatch Building The Broatch Building is located at 1209 Harney Street in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1880 with an 1887 expansion, it was designated an Omaha Landmark on December 20, 1983 and is a contributing building to the Old Market Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic...			No	Yes
Center School (Omaha, Nebraska)			Yes	Yes
Columbian School			Yes	Yes
Epeneter House			No	Yes
Ford Hospital Ford Hospital The Ford Hospital, also called the Fifth Avenue Hotel, is located at 121 South 25th Street in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1916, the hospital was a privately-operated facility built and operated by Dr. Michael J. Ford. Operating until 1922, it was the last small, private hospital in the city....			Yes	No
Franklin School			Yes	No
Gallagher Building	1888	1902-1906 South 13th Street		Yes	Yes
Georgia Row House Georgia Row House The Georgia Row House is a historic property in Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1890, it is one of the few traditional row houses in the city....			Yes	No
Gottlieb Storz House Gottlieb Storz House The Gottlieb Storz House is located at 3708 Farnam Street in the Blackstone neighborhood of Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1905 by Omaha beer magnate Gottlieb Storz, the mansion was designated an Omaha Landmark on December 21, 1982, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on...			Yes	Yes
Grossman Apartment			No	Yes
Guy C. Barton House Guy C. Barton House The Guy C. Barton House was a historic home in the Midtown area of Omaha, Nebraska. It was demolished in 1982....			Yes	No
Hanscom Park Hanscom Park Hanscom Park is a historic neighborhood in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Its namesake public park is one of the oldest parks in Omaha, donated to the City in 1872. U.S. President Gerald R. Ford was born in a house in the Hanscom Park neighborhood...	1876		No	No
Hicks House			No	Yes
Hicks Terrace Hicks Terrace Hicks Terrace is located at 3005-3011 Pacific Streetand 1102 South 30th Avenue in South Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1890, the structure represents the Queen Anne style of architecture. Designed by the early Omaha firm of Mendelssohn, Fisher and Lawrie, the building was constructed in 1890, and...			No	Yes
Immaculate Conception Church and School Immaculate Conception Church and School The Immaculate Conception Church and School are located at 2708 South 24th Street in the South Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1898, the church and its former school building were added together to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998....			Yes	No
Joel N. Cornish House Joel N. Cornish House The Joel N. Cornish House is located at 1404 South 10th Street in South Omaha, Nebraska. The 1886 construction is considered an "excellent example of the French Second Empire style." The house was converted into apartments after the Cornish family moved out in 1911.- Architecture :The house is a...			Yes	No
Kimball House			No	Yes
Kuncl-Hruska House			No	Yes
Little Bohemia Little Bohemia (Omaha, Nebraska) Little Bohemia, or Bohemian Town, is a historic neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. Starting in the 1880s, Czech immigrants settled in this highly concentrated area, also called "Praha" or "Bohemian Town", bounded by South 10th Street on the east, South 16th Street on the west, Pierce Street on the...		Bounded by South 10th Street on the east, South 16th Street on the west, Pierce Street on the north, and Martha Street on the south	No	No
Little Italy		Bounded by Pacific Street on the north, Center Street on the south, South 10th Street on the west and the Missouri River on the east.	No	No
Livestock Exchange Building			Yes	Yes
Mason School Mason School Mason School is located at 1012 South 24 Street in south Omaha, Nebraska. Designed in the Richardson Romanesque style and built in 1888, the school was closed in the late 1970s and converted into apartments...			Yes	Yes
Mason Terrace & Van Closter Residence			No	Yes
McLaughlin House			No	Yes
Megeath House			No	Yes
Monmouth Park School Monmouth Park School Monmouth Park School is a former public school located at 4508 North 33rd Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. The building is considered a significant example of the Second Renaissance Revival style. It is also important as the work of Thomas Kimball, considered by many to be Nebraska's finest architect...			Yes	No
Neble House Neble House The Angeline Hanson Neble House is located at 2752 South 10th Street in South Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1894 in the French Second Empire style, the house was designated an Omaha Landmark on November 18, 1980. It is one of very few examples of the French Second Empire style remaining in Omaha today....			No	Yes
Packer’s National Bank Building			Yes	Yes
Park School			Yes	Yes
Porter House			Yes	Yes
Prague Hotel Prague Hotel The Prague Hotel is located at 1402 South 13th Street on the southwest corner of South 13th and William Streets in the heart of the Little Bohemia neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska...			Yes	No
Robbins School Robbins School The Robbins School, originally called Franklin School, is located at 4302 South 39th Avenue in South Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It was built in 1910 to serve a newly established and growing Polish community in South Omaha. A 2000 rehabilitation converted the former school to rental residential use...			No	Yes
Rosewater School Rosewater School The Rosewater School, now known as the Rosewater Apartments, is located at 3764 South 13th Street in South Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1910, the building was named an Omaha Landmark on September 18, 1984, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.-About:Named for Edward Rosewater,...			Yes	Yes
Saint Joseph Parish Complex			Yes	Yes
St. John's Collegiate Church			No	Yes
St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church is an historic stone Episcopal church building located at 2312 J Street in the South Omaha district of Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1899 in the Late Gothic Revival style, it was designated an Omaha Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in...			Yes	Yes
St. Matthias Episcopal Church			Yes	No
St Philomena's Cathedral and Rectory			Yes	Yes
Slater House			No	Yes
South Omaha Bridge	1936	Located on Hwys 275/92 over the Missouri River	Yes	No
South Omaha Main Street Historic District South Omaha Main Street Historic District The South Omaha Main Street Historic District is located along South 24th Street between M and O Streets in South Omaha, Nebraska. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989...	1883	South 24th Street between M Street on the north and O Street on the south	Yes	No
Steiner Rowhouse No. 1			Yes	No
Steiner Rowhouse No. 2			Yes	No
Swoboda Bakery Swoboda Bakery The Swoboda Bakery was built at 1422 William Street in 1888 in the Little Bohemia neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1996.-History:...			Yes	No
Union State Bank Building			No	Yes
Vinton School Vinton School Vinton School was built as a fourteen-room elementary school in 1908 at 2120 Deer Park Boulevard in the Deer Park neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by Omaha architect Frederick W. Clarke, Vinton School is the earliest and most elaborate example of a Tudor Revival-style school in Omaha...			Yes	Yes
Vinton Street Commercial Historic District Vinton Street Commercial Historic District The Vinton Street Commercial Historic District is located along Vinton Street between Elm Street on the west and South 17th Street on the east in south Omaha, Nebraska. This district is located within Sheelytown, a residential neighborhood that had historically significant populations of Irish,...		Along Vinton Street between Elm Street on the west and South 17th Street on the east	No	Yes
Wattles House Wattles House The Wattles House is located at 320 South 37th Street in the Midtown area of Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by renowned Omaha architect Thomas Kimball in the Chateauesque style, the house was built in 1895...			No	Yes
Zabriskie House			Yes	Yes

External links

• History of South Omaha on NEGenWeb